


Clasps

by Enchantable



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Undressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-23 20:19:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enchantable/pseuds/Enchantable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raleigh and Mako undress each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clasps

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: You're fics are awesome :D I have one for you Raleigh get flirty with Mako during a inappropriate moment XD

"Mako?"

Mako looks over at Raleigh as they stand in the prep room. Their battle armor has been removed, leaving them just in their tight circuitry suits. Mako is dreaming of getting the thing off her. The adrenaline of battle has left her feeling like all she wants to do is crawl under the covers and sleep until it’s time for the assault on the Breach. But Raleigh calls her name and she quickly turns to face him.

She’s been inside his mind twice now and she knows everything about him. He knows the same about her. Still he hesitates. The thought bubbles up in Mako’s mind, though she knows it isn’t really her thought alone. Wordlessly she nods so he doesn’t have to say it and follows him into his room. It’s much more sparse than hers, but everything he owns fits into a backpack and everything he cares about fits into his pocket. 

"Turn around," she tells him.

He turns and she runs her fingers along his shoulder until she finds the clasp. Drive Suits provide an interface between the pilots and each other and the Jaeger. They are a smooth, unbroken, complex suit. Which means they are horrible to get on and worse to get off. It’s his first time being in a Jaeger fight and she knows his arm is practically numb. His other hand is shaking, though he’s pretended enough to keep it steady in front of everyone.

She’s trembling too but not as badly. And she’s studied the suits enough to know exactly how they work. Her fingers undo the first of the clasps and move onto the second, carefully loosening the suit. She reaches out and pinches the tips of his gloves. He carefully pulls his hand out and up, sliding it through the neck hole with some difficulty. She ducks around to the other side and repeats the process as he shimmies the suit down to his waist.

Her throat tightens as she tries to look at the pooled rubber instead of the man in front of her. It isn’t that she hasn’t seen a naked man before. It’s just that, well, she’s been inside his mind. She’s fought with him and she knows him as well as he knows himself. It’s a two way street meaning he knows exactly why the tips of her ears are so red at the moment. 

"Not exactly how you thought you’d see me naked the first time," he says, going for humor. She shakes her head, not trusting her voice, “hang on," he says," and grabs a towel, wrapping it around his waist as she loosens the seams on his legs and helps him pull the suit the rest of the way off, “thanks," he says. 

She nods her head and turns to go. 

"Mako?" he raises his eyebrows.

"I can—" she begins.

"Manage?" he finishes, the questioning edge still in his voice, “Mako turn around."

She wants to try for one more protest but she knows it will take hours before she gets out of the suit on her own and she isn’t sure that she’s got it in her. Her modesty is ridiculous, she knows that. He’s seen her body through her own eyes, it’s not like there’s anything new there. But still when he gently undoes the clasp, her breath catches.

"You know it’s tradition," he points out, “helping each other out of these things."

"For pilots who are—" she trails off.

"What? The same sex? What about the Kadinovskys?"

"That’s different," she says as the suit loosens and he comes over to her fingertips, “they’re married."

"They weren’t always," he points out as he comes to her hand and grips the fingertips of her gloves, “definitely weren’t the first time they did this."

She rolls her eyes and pulls her hand up towards her neck, mimicking the gesture he’s done a thousand times. When he’s still standing there her hand freezes and she glares at him. 

"Turn around," she demands. He raises his eyebrows and follows her, “I don’t care that you’ve seen," she adds, “this is different."

"How?" he asks and there’s no malice in the question.

"It’s not through my eyes," she says working an arm free. He holds out a towel and she grabs it, “okay," she tells him. He turns back around and comes to her other hand, holding the glove as she wiggles out of the suit, adjusting the towel over her top half as she pushes it down.

She doesn’t mean to make this awkward. But no-one sees her naked. Not even Stacker. And despite everything that they’ve been through she isn’t sure she’s ready to add Raleigh seeing her naked with his own eyes on top of it. She sits down and extends a leg as he finds the clasps that loosen the suit. Her eyes remain firmly on the floor as he loosens one leg and then the other. 

She misses his face fall at her silence. He knows this is all new territory to her and hes resolved to let her come to terms with everything in her own time. But it’s difficult when his heart is leaping with the adrenaline and joy of being back in a Jaeger, of having another copilot, especially one as strong as Mako. 

"You know I thought they’d have figured out a way to make these things not so awful by the time I got back," he tries. She doesn’t look up so he continues, “I mean, they’re better than what we used to wear. You practically had to grease up to get out of those things."

"Hansen says he used corn starch," she says finally, her voice soft.

"I bet those suits smelled delicious," he says tapping her foot. 

She points her toes and he tugs one leg off, then the other. Immediately she stills and he knows why. No-one touches his scars either. Hers are better hidden. He doubts most people know they’re there. But the sole of her foot is as decorated as his arm and leg. He watches her cheeks color and can’t let this get any more awkward. His hand his gentle on her ankle as he looks at the pale skin. 

"You ever try tennis balls?" he asks. She looks at him curiously, “Yancy I used to use them after runs. They help."

She looks at him. His hand is warm on her ankle and she knows he’s trying not to make this awkward. This is what people do—this is what pilots do. And he’s seen how badly she wants all of it. She dips her head before looking back up at him, trying to figure out how to tell him she’s sorry for making it all awkward. But he shakes his head and looks at her. 

"You know I hear Sasha punched Alexis the first time they did this," he says with a smile, “we beat them on that front."

"But we aren’t going to get married in six months," she points out as she lowers her leg and gets to her feet. 

He laughs and goes over to the top bunk, pulling down a small green ball and offering it to her. She takes it from him with a murmured thank you and collects her suit, heading to her own room to try out what he’s suggested.

It isn’t until four and a half months later when they’re laying in bed together, rings on their fingers that she realizes he never quite agreed with her that day.


End file.
